 |
| SuperDD. Standing for truth, justice and runny noses everywhere. |
Last november the other half bought DD Superman pyjamas (with detachable cape!) for a fancy dress fundraiser shindig his creche were throwing. Within no time the three of us were running around the living room, one fist in the air, dada-ing John Williams' Superman theme. The kid loved it, especially when at the end of the da's we all shouted "SUPERMAAAAN!" He went nuts for it.
We tracked down the recording on youtube and it quickly became apparent that the part of the theme that everyone sings, that lends itself so perfectly to us shouting "Superman" at the end of that bar, was only a small piece of a bigger, more beautiful puzzle. It's a classic, but not exactly material for a singalong with a kid of 14 months. We needed something short, sharp, catchy and equally classic.
Enter our hero, stage right.
Neal Hefti's 12 bar ditty for the 1960's TV series is a catchy SOB of a theme. Without a doubt one of the greatest themes of all time and in no time at all DD was running all over the shop, singing it at the top of his lungs like a demented banshee. Before I know it, we're blowing the dust off my DVD of the '66 movie (which, somewhat ironically, doesn't even feature the iconic theme), cwtching up on the sofa and falling in love with Batman together; DD for the first time, the umpteenth time for myself.
It seems somewhat poetic, but also incredibly odd to me, that my son's introduction to the character matches mine. Since I was a kid Batman on the small screen has gone through many incarnations - The Animated Adventures, The New Adventures, Beyond, The Batman and, most recently, The Brave And The Bold, but we both fell in love with Batman thanks to the 60's series. Maybe it shouldn't be that surprsing. The Adam West incarnation is bright, colourful, fun and completely uncynical - ideal fodder for kids so young. I just think I would have expected him to discover the character through some modern incarnation. Then again the 60's TV series was hardly contemporary to my childhood.
So that's the origin story. I'm not sure where this blog will be going, I just feel I need to put down the thoughts that have come to me over the last year and keep coming to me as my son and I go through this journey of discovery/rediscovery together. Maybe we'll gain some insight into the affinity folk feel with fictional characters or maybe we'll be left with the inane ramblings of a man fast approaching middle-age and desperately trying to keep hold of his childhood through his boy. Who knows?
Hopefully it will be fun finding out.
Until next time-
Same Bat-time!
Same Bat-channel!
Does that work?
Nope. Gonna have to work on that.
No comments:
Post a Comment